


There's A Fork In The Road (I'll Do As I Am Told)

by Lilsciencequeen



Series: Season Five Fics [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Female Friendship, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Season/Series 05 Spoilers, Women Supporting Women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 08:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12907734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilsciencequeen/pseuds/Lilsciencequeen
Summary: When Kasius invited them to his penthouse, to share an afternoon (or what passed as an afternoon in this hell) with him, that should have been the first clue that something was wrong. That something was off about this whole thing.That there was something more at play here, something that they didn’t yet understand.// Season Five Spoilers





	There's A Fork In The Road (I'll Do As I Am Told)

**Author's Note:**

> Season Five Spoilers

When Kasius invited them to his penthouse, to share an afternoon (or what passed as an afternoon in this hell) with him, that should have been the first clue that something was wrong. That something was off about this whole thing.

That there was something more at play here, something that they didn’t yet understand.

The invite had been given to them that morning over breakfast, one of the servants coming down to inform them before leaving, not even answering any of their questions, leaving them calling out hopelessly to the only figure dressed in white in this world, the hem of their tunic dragging on the ground, picking up dust.

There had been doubts about going, Mack and Coulson not thinking that it was a good idea. Saying that it wasn’t the best idea, that it had to be a trick, something that would leave them worse off. They had already lost Jemma to the Kree, they couldn’t lose anyone else.

But it was the mention of Jemma’s name that only made Daisy even more determined to get her way, to go up to the Penthouse, to the place where the Kree who ran these place, presided over it like dictators lived.  She said that Jemma had to be there, that there was nowhere else she could be, and that she had to be there. And besides, with two Inhumans between them, May and someone who was basically a small tank, it couldn’t be that hard to rescue Jemma.

In the end, it had gone to a vote, and it had been three against two; May, Yo-Yo and Daisy all voting in favour of rescuing Jemma, or at least visiting the Penthouse to see what was happening. So, in the end, they ended up going, taking the lift up to the Penthouse, all five of them on edge as the door slide open, revealing a room that was so different from the life that they had adjusted to over the past two weeks.

One of the servants was waiting for them, arms crossed across their chest as the team exited the elevator, welcoming them to Kasius’ quarters and leading them towards where it was they were to be meeting him.

It was with slow tentative footsteps that they entered the room, the walls a cream colour and found that a coffee table and some chairs had been arranged in the room, as if for a meeting.

“Ahhh,” came a voice from the other side, and they looked over to them, and they saw him. Kasius. He turned to see them, a tall menacing, wicked figure, with cold dead eyes. “You made it after all. Please, have a seat.”

Daisy looked at everyone, wondering what to do at this point, and once Coulson gave a soft nod, she sat down, everyone following suit. She couldn’t help but wonder where Jemma was, what had been done to her.

“I’m glad you made it,” Kasius continued, his voice cutting through the air like a sharpened knife. “I have refreshments on their way. I hope you’ve made yourselves comfortable here. I am truly sorry about your situation.”

Daisy bit back a snide remark, wanting nothing more than to use her words (or her powers) to inflict pain on the bastard. It was his fault this was happening. Maybe it wasn’t completely his fault, but he was someone she could blame, and it was giving her something to work with at the moment, and that, to Daisy, was the most important thing.

However, all of her anger was replaced with shock when they saw who it was that was bringing out their refreshments.

Jemma.

He had turned her into one of them, one of his servants. And it made her sick to her stomach. Daisy couldn’t tear her eyes away, couldn’t even blink as she watched Jemma make her way across the room, with all the grace that the other servants had. But to Daisy, that wasn’t the worst thing that was happening. It was how Jemma seemed to ignore them all, not even notice them. There was just something about it that sent a chill down Daisy’s spine, that made her want to be physically ill.

“Jemma,” Daisy breathed, her words cutting through the silence but Jemma seemed to ignore her, just setting the tray down on the table in the centre of the room and before she even knew what was happening, Daisy reached forward grabbing her friend’s arm, her finger’s wrapping around the Brit’s wrist.

Jemma instantly froze, panic flashing across her features, and Daisy saw her swallow hard, chew on her lip, as if she had done something wrong. “Jemma, what happened? What did they do to you?”

But still, no reply from Jemma. In fact, it seemed as if she couldn’t hear what she was being asked, confusion momentarily causing furrows in her brow, but they were soon gone, replace by an intense fear in her eyes. Instead of replying, of speaking about what had happened to her, she turned her attention away from Daisy, looking towards Kasius. He nodded, before gesturing to the back room from which Jemma had come. She nodded, as if understanding, before pulling her arm free from Daisy’s grasp and hurrying from the room, her shoulders heavy and tense.

“That’s why you called us here,” Coulson spoke aloud, his eyes still on the vacant door that Jemma had exited through. “You wanted to show us her.”

Kasius looked as though he were about to speak again, to tell them of something but Daisy interrupted him. “What happened to her? What did you do to her?” It was hard to keep the fury from her voice, but she knew she had to tread carefully now, with Jemma in such a precarious place.

Kasius smiled, a hateful smile, one that showed he had power, and he knew it. “With humanity as it is,” he began to lament. “The beauty must be cultivated, the pure must be allowed to flourish.” When he saw that no one seemed to be understanding his words, he sighed, as if impatient. “Those who work for me, those who are deemed worthy, they’re not allowed to be tainted, to be impure. To have the words of those that are… to have the words of those that are… let’s just say below them, taint them, put ideas in their minds. Push them off their path in life, it could be catastrophic. Jemma, like so many of the others, only hears what she needs to hear. The words to keep her right in life.”

It took a moment for what was just said to fully sink in, and when it did, Daisy felt her stomach drop. If what Kasius was implying was right, then Jemma couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t hear them. Could only hear him and what he wanted her to hear.

And he was obviously using the team against her, using them to keep her in line. To make her the obedient servant that he wanted her to be. It made Daisy sick to her stomach, that someone could manipulate someone like that, that someone could use Jemma like that and she wanted to quake him, to break his neck and every other bone in his body but she couldn’t. Not with Jemma’s life at risk, and anyway, he was already speaking again.

“Jemma, just like you, just like everyone, has a purpose in life. Has a destiny to fulfil and we can’t risk ruining that, can we? Ruining her true purpose in life. And you…” And with that, his tone turned malicious, a threat full of venom. “You have a purpose too. A chance to do good. A chance to make everything right… and I can’t have you ruining everything that I have built, everything that I have created because if you do… I would hate to lose another one of my people, to lose one of the ones who can help. And blood, it’s really hard to get out of those tunics.” With that threat having left him, one where no specifics were mentioned, but the implication more than clear enough, he pushed himself up. “I apologise, there are other matters that need my attending. But feel free to stay as long as you like, indulge yourself. Who knows when your next proper meal shall be? And when you’re ready, Jemma will escort you back to the lift. Allow you to return back down to your quarters. You do have other work to be doing down there, don’t you?” And with that, he rose fully, leaving the room, and the team alone.

“We have to rescue her,” Daisy said, casting a glance back, hoping to see Jemma, but failing to. “We have to get her out of here. Break whatever spell that bastard has her under.”

“We can’t,” May said, true pain laced in her voice. “We can’t rescue her. Not yet. There’s too much at stake, there’s too much…” Daisy knew that she felt guilty, at not being able to stop this from happening. That she blamed herself for what was being done to Jemma.

“We can’t just leave her here! With these monsters!”

“I know that Daisy, you think that I want to leave her here? Jemma is resourceful. She’s alive. She knows what she’s doing. She’s going to be okay. She has survived so much, and she’s going to survive.”

“So what do we do?” Elena asked, looking around everyone, clearly not happy either about the decision. “Leave her here?”

Coulson nodded. “We leave her here, find out more about what is happening and work out what to do next. Jemma is going to be fine.”

Daisy just sighed, leaning back in her chair as everyone else rose, and after a number of moments, she rose herself, allowing her feet to drag as she followed them to the corridor to get back to the elevator. Jemma was waiting for them, and once she saw them coming, she turned, leading them back to it, not even speaking to them, not even acknowledging them and Daisy couldn’t help but wonder was it just her hearing that had been taken from her, or had it been her voice too.

And how it had been done? Just what had Kasius done to her to make her act like this, to terrify her like this. Because whatever it was, it wasn’t good. It wasn’t something that Jemma deserved.

She seemed so passive, so content with allowing this control over her to be exercised but Coulson, and May’s words floated in her mind, making their home there. It made her wonder just how much of this was an act, a strategy to stay alive. Just how much control did Jemma have at this moment in time.

They followed her down the corridor, the silence deafening. No one wanted to speak, there were no words that could be said at this point in time, no use in reassurances that everything would be okay. After a minute or so, they reached the elevator again, Jemma pushing the correct code for it, and stepping back to allow them in. And as everyone pilled in, they all turned to look at her, pity sweeping across all their faces. Still, however, no reaction from Jemma. And if this was an act, all just a charge, then Daisy was more than a little bit proud. When she had first known Jemma, she couldn’t lie, couldn’t even do undercover and now here she was, possibly tricking the most dangerous living thing on this base.

May’s look was the worst, when it was her turn to walk past Jemma, and something passed between the two women, a conversation in only the quickest of glimpses. Daisy couldn’t decipher any of it but the other two seemed to know what was happening.

Elena seemed to whisper an apology, something that Jemma wouldn’t be able to hear, but if she could read lips, then she would be able to understand what was happening.

Daisy herself entered the elevator last, watching Jemma disappear from view as the doors slid shut, her face emotionless and as the world seemed to sink, Daisy made a silent vow that she would go back for Jemma and get her out of this hell hole.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me in work, and I couldn't get rid of it, so I decided to write it. Thanks so much for checking out, I hope that you enjoyed. Title from Mowgli's Road by Marina and the Diamonds


End file.
